Fast Food?
We know that Fast Food isn’t the healthiest alternative. But is it really the fastest? This past weekend, my husband and I packed up the kids and hit the road for a whirlwind trip to southern New Jersey to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday. The drive from our town south of Boston to the Princeton area is a straight shot down Route 95, but it is long and summer traffic is tough. However, I am lucky to be married to the King of Interstate Navigation and he masterfully planned the logistics of this trip so that we spent minimal time traveling and we got the most out of our time with family. I was overwhelmingly impressed with his trip-planning skills.
Instead of fighting the Friday night exodus out of the metro Boston area, we left at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and sailed through Rhode Island and Connecticut in record time. But then everything halted when we came to the George Washington Bridge and traveled through New York City. Once over the bridge and into New Jersey and now almost 5 hours into our trip, we just had to stop. Everyone needed to use the rest room and we really needed to eat some lunch. So, we hit the Thomas A. Edison rest area…..
along with everyone else traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike that day. It was a very busy place.
The thing about a rest area is that people don’t really want to “rest”. They really just want to hurry up and use the bathroom and eat something really, really quick so that they can get back on the road and get where they’re going to. We were no exception. We had a party to get to.
So the lunch choices were Burger King, Popeye’s, Sbarro, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, and Hershey Ice Cream.
Our kids were psyched! A chance to eat Burger King! Because there were no other choices, really. So my dutiful husband got in the very long line at Burger King with my son in tow.
I really wasn’t interested in eating anything on the Burger King menu, so I figured I would go find a bottle of water and a yogurt somewhere. I wasn’t sure where, because there were no signs other than for Popeye’s, Sbarro, Hershey’s and Nathan’s. But like I said, I’m like a Bloodhound who can sniff out healthy food. So, I grabbed my daughter’s hand and we went to forage for real food. You know, the kind that comes from plants.
Lo and behold, there were lots of great healthy choices to be found. But you have to go behind and around to find them. There was this whole “Fresh Attractions” section full of great stuff.
Like sushi…
salad…
fresh strawberries…
yogurt parfaits…
carrot sticks and celery sticks…
and carrots, grapes and cheese.
So all the healthy food was hidden in this one area of the food court. There was no big hanging sign advertising Fresh Attractions. You really had to look for it. And if you didn’t look hard enough, you didn’t find it.
So, my daughter and I purchased a Southwest salad and some carrots, grapes and cheese and a bottle of water. And we didn’t even have to wait in line. Because no one was in line for the food made from plants. They were all in line over at Burger King.
My daughter and I sat down and shared our Food Made From Plants together and waited for my husband and my son to finish up in the Burger King line. And we waited and waited. And we saved some salad and fruit for my husband and son. And finally, they came over with their “fast” food.
As my daughter and I ate, I watched the line at Burger King and thought about the obesity epidemic in our country. It was so interesting to see the long line at Burger King. And no one in line at Fresh Attractions. It was also interesting to me that Burger King, Popeye’s, Sbarro, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, and Hershey Ice Cream all had hanging signs showing people exactly where to go to buy their food. But there was no hanging sign for Fresh Attractions. I really had to search high and low to find it.
While there was no NuVal score on my Southwest salad, I am quite sure it would outscore what my husband brought back from Burger King. And in this case, the healthier food was the “faster” food. But we almost needed a GPS to find it in that busy rest area. I really love that when it comes down to it, my job is to help people find the most nutritious choices in food. I hope that one day it will extend beyond the grocery store – because after my experience at the Thomas A. Edison rest area, which was anything but restful – I think we sure could use it.
Posted by: Melissa 9 comments
Tags: Fast Food, New Jersey, rest area, travel
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 8:37 am
I think that they even had that fresh attractions food available says A LOT. It shows that there are at least some other people out there seeking the right foods… the real foods. I pretty much always have a lunchbox full of my own healthy foods because you just never know if you can find something real or even harder is finding something balanced. You can find a barren iceburg lettuce salad anywhere but a bright colorful salad with protein and healthy fats, not so easy. Great story!
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 8:57 am
This was so interesting. The hanging signs are there because Americans are SO persuaded by advertising. I was a Marketing major and this is one of the reasons why. It amazes me what companies can get people to buy. High five for seeking out the salad!
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 9:07 am
I’m sure you were feeling way better than your husband was by the time you got to the party……fast food makes me lethargic and bloated…..ick!! Good for you for seeking out the “good stuff”
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 am
I agree with the previous poster, Amanda. It’s amazing they offered anything! Half the convenience stores in this part of the state have ABSOLUTELY NO fresh/healthy options. Not even a banana! Closest one can get is salted roasted mixed nuts or some kind of “granola bar.”
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 11:40 am
I think this is a great blog because it brings more awareness about healthier choices that an individual can make with their eating when they travel. Maybe they should implement NuVal scoring at rest stops…..hmmm…
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 1:29 pm
While I’m glad it was there, it’s sad and disheartening that you had to search so hard to find the healthy foods. I hope that if people had known it was there, that the line for the real food would have been longer. It’s also a bit irresponsible and strange that the operators of the rest stop didn’t do anything to let people know that the option was there.
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Isn’t that true about the advertising! Since my grocery store (Hy Vee) started using NuVal I’ve renewed my mindset about nutrition. I have to say that I am thinking about it more (not just in the grocery store) and hunting down those “better” and “best” options instead. Behavior follows belief. Too bad fast food is so addicting and available!
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 3:10 pm
PS-Melissa, could you do a little info on NuVal and packaged snacks? Parents in my daughter’s kindergarten class have been asked to provide the snacks all year. The big catch–there is a child with a peanut allergy (poor guy) and so all snacks have to be store purchased and packaged…ugh! My daughter is meeting all kinds of foods she’s never met before. Just this week she came home and told me about the bugles they had for snack. Is it possible to have healthy, peanut-safe packaged snacks? Maybe they would let me bring bananas…hmmm.
on Sep 2nd, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Sarah -
I would be happy to do a post on NuVal and packaged snacks! I have been thinking about a Back-to-School post for next week. Well, sort of. I have been dreading Back to School (I’m a Summer Girl!!). But I just got back from taking my kids to Open House at their Elementary School and I’m finally in the mood! Thanks for this twist. Packaged snacks that are peanut free for your daughter’s kindergarten class. Got it! I’ll do the research and you’ll see it next week!
Melissa